Innocuous Researcher MTG Card
2024-02-09 - Number 348
2024-02-09 - Number 38
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Centaur Detective |
| Abilities | Investigate,Parley |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 4 |
Text of card
Parley — Whenever Innocuous Researcher attacks, each player reveals the top card of their library. For each nonland card revealed this way, you investigate. Then each player draws a card. At the beginning of your end step, you may untap all lands you control. If you do, you can't cast spells until your next turn.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Innocuous Researcher offers the opportunity to sift through your deck by drawing cards, which in turn helps you find the answers or pieces you need. This card becomes a valuable part of your arsenal in ensuring you don’t run out of steam mid-game and helps maintain a robust hand.
Resource Acceleration: With the ability to potentially untap lands or other permanents, Innocuous Researcher could significantly fast-track your gameplay. This can lead to a crucial uptick in your resource management, allowing you to deploy threats or answers ahead of schedule, setting the tempo of the game.
Instant Speed: The swift nature of instant speed spells like Innocuous Researcher is what keeps opponents on their toes. Having the ability to act during your opponent’s turn grants flexibility and the element of surprise, thereby enhancing the strategic depth of each match. Being able to react instantaneously to new threats or shifting board states ensures that you remain a formidable foe throughout all phases of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Innocuous Researcher necessitates pitching a card from your hand, potentially depleting your valuable resources and hurting your game progression, especially in the early stages where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both blue and green mana, making it less flexible and harder to cast in a multicolored deck not dedicated to these colors. This restriction could lead to it being a dead draw in decks that cannot reliably produce both types of mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding three mana, including both colored mana requirements, Innocuous Researcher can be seen as a significant investment for its ability. Cards such as Elvish Visionary or Wall of Blossoms offer similar benefits for a lesser cost, prompting players to weigh their options when filling this slot in their deck.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Innocuous Researcher can seamlessly adapt to various deck builds, adding value to strategies that pivot on creature-based synergies or benefit from card draw mechanics.
Combo Potential: With its ability to transform under specific conditions, Innocuous Researcher opens up the floor for combo interactions, particularly in decks revolving around graveyard mechanics and creature type changes.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where utility creatures play pivotal roles, Innocuous Researcher can gain traction by fitting into that niche, offering deckbuilders a subtle yet strategic card choice.
How to beat Innocuous Researcher
Innocuous Researcher could be mistaken for a benign presence on the battlefield, but seasoned Magic: The Gathering players know better than to overlook this card. Innocuous Researcher might not be as imposing as some powerhouse creatures, yet it holds its own through subtle synergy and board presence. Its ability to draw cards when certain conditions are met can put its controller a few crucial steps ahead in card advantage.
Defeating a card like Innocuous Researcher necessitates quick removal before its advantages can be reaped. Speed is of the essence; therefore, spells that can target and destroy or exile it before its controller gains momentum are key. Preferably, instant-speed removal such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can ensure the Researcher’s abilities are neutralized efficiently. Furthermore, as with any card that benefits from the graveyard, graveyard hate like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can hinder any potential value gain from the death of the innocuous creature.
Ultimately, while Innocuous Researcher offers a modest level of threat on its own, its true danger lies in what it symbolizes – the potential for increased card advantage. By keeping its abilities in check through strategic removal or graveyard disruption, you can mitigate the Researcher’s impact and maintain control over the game’s pace.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Innocuous Researcher MTG card by a specific set like Murders at Karlov Manor Commander and Murders at Karlov Manor Commander, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Innocuous Researcher and other MTG cards:
BUY NOW BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Innocuous Researcher Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2024-02-09 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Simon Dominic.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 348 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Simon Dominic | |
| 2 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 38 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Simon Dominic |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Innocuous Researcher has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Innocuous Researcher card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2024-02-02 | Clue is an artifact type. Even though it appears on some cards with other permanent types, it’s never a creature type, a land type, or anything but an artifact type. |
| 2024-02-02 | Except in some very unusual cases, the card each player reveals is the one they’ll draw. |
| 2024-02-02 | If an effect refers to a Clue, it means any Clue artifact, not just a Clue artifact token. For example, you can sacrifice Wrench to pay for Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth’s activated ability. |
| 2024-02-02 | Some abilities trigger “whenever you sacrifice a Clue”. Those abilities trigger whenever you sacrifice a Clue for any reason, not just to activate a Clue’s activated ability. |
| 2024-02-02 | Some spells and abilities that investigate may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won’t resolve. You won’t create any Clue tokens. |
| 2024-02-02 | There’s no window for you to cast spells after untapping all lands you control but before the “you can’t cast spells” portion of Innocuous Researcher’s last ability takes effect. Once that ability resolves, it doesn’t matter whether Innocuous Researcher stays on the battlefield; you’ll still be unable to cast spells until your next turn begins. |
| 2024-02-02 | You can’t sacrifice a Clue to pay multiple costs. For example, you can’t sacrifice a Clue token to activate its own ability and also to activate Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth’s ability. |